Releasing the Captive

After a period of adjustment, seeing that the training of the Golden Eagle had yielded results and the Reverse Summoning Jutsu had exceeded expectations, Ito Makoto began to consider releasing the Golden Eagle from Konoha Hidden Village.

There was no point in keeping the Golden Eagle inside the village; as the medium for the summoning technique, its location would be where Ito Makoto would escape to in the future. If he kept the Golden Eagle in the village, then when Ito Makoto was hunted by Danzo, he would at most escape into the village, which would only cost Danzo a little more time.

However, placing it outside the village was a different matter. Once outside Konoha, Danzo could not cover the sky with one hand, and by the time he made his escape, Danzo wouldn't even be able to catch up to him.

However, releasing the Golden Eagle was not without its difficulties. It wasn't as simple as just tossing it into the sky.

Konoha Hidden Village might appear very open, but in reality, the sky above Konoha was covered by a sensory barrier. It was like a large bowl, shrouding the entire village within it. The only exit was the main gate of Konoha.

At the main gate of Konoha, there were specialized ninja responsible for vetting those entering and leaving.

Combined, these formed the rigorous defense system of Konoha.

In this world of ninja, there were countless ways to use birds to scout for information, so the sky was also an area that the ninja villages focused on defending.

If he released the Golden Eagle within the village, once it crossed the barrier, Anbu patrol ninja would surely shoot it down. At that point, they might follow the trail back to him and bring him trouble.

Konoha Hidden Village was, after all, a military base, not an ordinary commercial city. Although it was well-disguised, one could never lower their guard against Konoha.

Fortunately, his mother Mika was a Chunin and had the qualifications to enter and leave Konoha. His background was clear and understood, and the Golden Eagle was also a registered Ninja Beast of Konoha; as long as he explained it clearly, it should pass the inspection.

At dawn, taking advantage of his mother's free time, Ito Makoto brought the Golden Eagle to the main gate of Konoha, preparing to release it.

Because the Golden Eagle was quite large, it still required Mika to carry it by hand.

Sakura had specifically tagged along as well. Compared to Ito Makoto, the owner, Sakura's affection for the Golden Eagle was far greater.

"Can we keep Xiao Jin? I can't bear to part with it," Sakura said with teary eyes. She was the one who loved the Golden Eagle the most, and she had even given it its name.

"Sakura, Xiao Jin belongs to nature. If we keep it confined in Konoha, it won't be happy," Ito Makoto comforted her.

Xiao Jin? I think being a kept pet is actually pretty good.

With his mother's guarantee, passing through the checkpoint at the Konoha gate went very smoothly. After verifying their identities, the guard ninja let them through.

Arriving at an open field, Mika tossed the Golden Eagle into the sky.

The Golden Eagle spread its wings, its 2.4-meter wingspan acting like a curtain covering the sky, leaving a shadow on the ground.

It circled a few times, as if saying goodbye. Immediately after, it sped away like a bolt of golden lightning.

The Golden Eagle's average flight speed was 80 kilometers per hour. Its maximum diving speed could even reach over 300 kilometers per hour. In terms of movement speed, it was unrivaled among Ninja Beasts.

Ito Makoto and Sakura waved goodbye from the ground.

Sakura even shed tears.

"It's okay, Sakura. If you want to see Xiao Jin, I can call it back at any time."

"Really?"

"Really."

The three of them returned to Konoha together.

Although the Golden Eagle had ostensibly left, it was actually just following Ito Makoto's instructions to head to a place far from Konoha to establish a safe house.

To ensure the Golden Eagle's mission went smoothly, as soon as he returned home, Ito Makoto took over control of the Golden Eagle via the Rinnegan.

As his perspective shifted, Ito Makoto's consciousness appeared within the body of the Golden Eagle.

White clouds streaked beneath his body, the sky lingered upon his back, and all things on the ground looked like insects and ants; it felt as if the world were in his grasp.

This feeling is not bad at all, Ito Makoto thought.

After the transformation by the Rinnegan, the Golden Eagle was no longer the ordinary bird it once was. It had mastered the ability to generate chakra and possessed the capacity to use ninjutsu. Furthermore, it had acquired a new, special ability.

Following Ito Makoto's consciousness, chakra began to condense and circulate within the Golden Eagle's body. The special ability within the Golden Eagle began to take effect; its body size started to change, its length gradually increasing, and its wingspan becoming even broader. Its original size had increased tenfold. With a 24-meter wingspan, it was like a legendary Kunpeng soaring through the sky.

This was the special ability the Golden Eagle had awakened under the modification of the Rinnegan's Animal Path: Size Alteration.

During the process of refining the Reverse Summoning Jutsu with the Golden Eagle, he discovered that the Rinnegan's Animal Path had the ability to strengthen living creatures and assist in the awakening of special powers. Xiao Jin had awakened the ability to change its size unconsciously.

Currently, Xiao Jin could directly increase its size tenfold, becoming a giant eagle with ten times the strength to enhance its combat capabilities. It could also shrink its size tenfold, becoming the size of a sparrow to evade damage.

This was not a superficial Transformation Technique, but a true change in physical size. For instance, if its size increased tenfold, its strength would also increase tenfold, and all its abilities would change in a tangible way.

In fact, Ito Makoto was not the first to discover this ability of the Animal Path. One could see it in Nagato, the wielder of the Rinnegan.

In the original story, although the Rinnegan belonged to Uchiha Madara, the contract beasts of the Rinnegan were almost all cultivated by Nagato himself.

After all, in Uchiha Madara's eyes, apart from the Nine-Tails, all summoning beasts were trash, and the Tailed Beasts from the One-Tail to the Eight-Tails were also trash. How could he possibly bother to cultivate summoning beasts?

Yet, the summoning beasts cultivated by Nagato all possessed unique abilities. For example, the Hellhound that would split when damaged, the Yata Crow that could drop explosive eggs from the sky onto the ground, and the Chameleon that could turn those it touched transparent, achieving an invisibility effect.

One must know that Nagato did not come from a great clan; as an orphan, he could not have had elders pass down these unique summoning beasts to him, and he himself had no research capabilities, nor could he be like Orochimaru, who used scientific research to develop unique summoning beasts.

Therefore, these summoning beasts could only have been cultivated through the special abilities of the Rinnegan's Animal Path.

Although the Animal Path appeared extremely unremarkable among the Six Paths of Pain, these special abilities were incredibly unique and interesting. Ito Makoto was now experiencing the joy Nagato had once felt.

With such a massive size, no blind beast on the road would dare to trouble him. Controlling the Golden Eagle, Ito Makoto flew eastward.

The eastern part of the Land of Fire faced the sea and had no hostile major powers, making it one of the most stable regions. There were also plenty of fish in the ocean, enough to sustain the Golden Eagle in its current form. Establishing a safe base there would allow him to rest easy in the future.

After controlling the Golden Eagle's flight for two days, he finally arrived at the seaside.

The establishment of a safe base could not be too far from people. Daily necessities like money, rice, oil, and salt were difficult for ordinary people to obtain once they left cities where people gathered.

Ito Makoto searched along the coastline for signs of people, eventually spending half an hour before finding a small fishing village. Because it was remote and impoverished, it lacked the intervention of ninja power. If he ever encountered danger, this would be an excellent place to hide.

Having confirmed the location, Ito Makoto issued an order for the Golden Eagle to build a nest, then released his control over it.

A Golden Eagle's nest is generally located on a cliff; as for the specific method of construction, Ito Makoto did not know, so it was better to leave it to the bird itself.

Through the connection of the Rinnegan, Ito Makoto watched as the Golden Eagle found a cliff by the sea, gathered branches, and built its nest bit by bit.

He did not force the Golden Eagle to find a cave or anything similar, even though that would have been more convenient for him to land, and a cave could serve as shelter from the wind and rain.

In reality, however, caves often meant cold and dampness. They were filled with snakes, rats, insects, and ants. Ito Makoto could not live in a cave for long, and an uninhabited cave would only bring trouble to the Golden Eagle.

Nature has its own way; rather than forcibly interfering with the Golden Eagle's choices, it was better to follow its instincts and let it choose for itself.

Through the eyes of the Golden Eagle, Ito Makoto looked at the surrounding environment.

Although it was on a steep cliff, there was a foothold nearby. This way, using the Reverse Summoning Jutsu would carry no risk of falling off the cliff.

Seeing that the Golden Eagle was struggling to collect branches, Ito Makoto withdrew from the control perspective. He went to the outskirts of Konoha to find some branches, bundled them up, and brought them home.

He took control of the Golden Eagle and used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu.

After a puff of smoke, Ito Makoto vanished from where he stood, appearing on the cliffside of the Land of Fire's east coast.

The strong sea breeze stung his face, but it was still within a tolerable range.

The Golden Eagle was not surprised to see Ito Makoto appear. Ito Makoto had already used the Golden Eagle to test the Reverse Summoning Jutsu many times before. If he hadn't had the experience of those multiple tests, he wouldn't have dared to teleport onto this cliff so casually.

He handed the branches in his hands to the Golden Eagle, which tilted its head, picking and choosing, discarding some of the unsuitable branches while using the rest to build its nest.

This guy is quite picky, Ito Makoto thought to himself.

Being here in person was different from viewing it through the Golden Eagle's perspective.

This was the first time he had seen the ocean of this world since arriving.

After waiting for a moment, the Golden Eagle finished building the nest.

Ito Makoto issued an order for the Golden Eagle to increase its size and take him for a flight over the sea.

The Golden Eagle, having changed its size, reached a wingspan of 24 meters; if it went to the Ultraman World, it would be just like a monster. Naturally, it could easily carry his weight.

Sitting on the back of the Golden Eagle, he soared over the ocean. The sea breeze blowing past had a unique charm.

In the world of Naruto, ninjas with the ability to fly were extremely rare. Now, with the existence of the Golden Eagle, it had made up for one of his weaknesses.

In the future, even if he didn't want to participate in those great wars, as long as he took his family and flew around on the Golden Eagle, no one would be able to do anything to him.

After playing around with the Golden Eagle for a while, Ito Makoto dispelled the Reverse Summoning Jutsu and returned home.